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Arid Land Geography ›› 2025, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (11): 1913-1925.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2024.721

• Climate Change • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Characteristics of paleovegetation succession and temperature variation in the warmest month at ~68.6—46.4 ka BP in the Hetao Basin

MA Zixuan1(), LI Xinling1,2(), CAI Maotang3, LI Zhizhou1, ZHU Haiyu1, LIU Siwei1   

  1. 1. College of Geographic Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, Hebei, China
    2. Hebei Key Laboratory of Environmental Evolution and Ecological Construction, Shijiazhuang 050024, Hebei, China
    3. Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
  • Received:2024-11-28 Revised:2025-02-08 Online:2025-11-25 Published:2025-11-26
  • Contact: LI Xinling E-mail:mazixuan@163.com;lixinling@hebtu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Utilizing the established age framework of the HJ01 borehole in the Hetao Basin, Inner Monglia, China, we conducted pollen analysis on 207 samples from lacustrine sediments. We employed the weighted average partial least squares regression method to quantitatively reconstruct the temperature changes during the warmest month in the Hetao Basin from approximately 68.6 ka BP to 46.4 ka BP. The results indicate the following. (1) The primary vegetation types in the Hetao Basin are desert grasslands, with variations in the content of major families and genera at different stages; the surrounding mountainous areas have developed coniferous forests, predominantly of spruce, which have experienced two phases of expansion and one phase of retreat. (2) From approximately 68.6 ka BP to 57.0 ka BP, the warmest month temperature averaged 14.2 ℃, fluctuating between 10.1 ℃ and 16.9 ℃, suggesting an overall cold climate. The average temperature increase during the warmest month from approximately 57.0 ka BP to 52.2 ka BP was 1.5 ℃. The highest temperature recorded was 15.7 ℃, with fluctuations between 10.5 ℃ and 21.6 ℃, indicating a warming climate. From approximately 52.2 ka BP to 46.4 ka BP, the warmest month temperature averaged 15.8 ℃, with fluctuations between 13.2 ℃ and 17.8 ℃, reflecting a relatively warm climate. (3) By comparing the reconstructed temperatures of the warmest month with typical global paleoclimate records, we find that changes in summer solar radiation and Eurasian ice cover in the Northern Hemisphere may significantly influence temperature variations during the warmest month in the Hetao Basin from approximately 68.6 ka BP to 46.4 ka BP. These findings provide a scientific basis for predicting future glacial climate changes.

Key words: MIS4, Hetao Basin, pollen assemblage, quantitative reconstruction of paleoclimate, paleovegetation succession